Oodles more on Google, thanks to NZ's Netconcepts

By RICHARD PAMATATAU

Software from Browns Bay developer Netconcepts has given America's Northern Tool and Equipment Company a boost up the ratings on search engine giant Google.

Northern Tool is one of the United States' biggest catalogue companies.

It carries around 17,000 tool and equipment products for DIY enthusiasts and businesses such as automotive workshops, grounds maintenance organisations and professionals.

It sells generators and engines, air and power tools and automotive supplies, as well as more mundane tools such as hammers and drills.

Northern Tool's e-commerce marketing manager, Nathan Miller, said the software developed in New Zealand, called GravityStream, had had a big impact on its sales and had added new customers to its lists.

Although the company's site has more than 17,000 items on it, Miller said potential customers could find only 50 of them through Google before using GravityStream.

"The lack of search engine visibility was costing between US$100,000 and US$250,000 ($155,000 and $390,000) a month in missed sales," said Miller.

GravityStream is designed to make e-commerce websites much more "crawler-friendly" to search engines that are constantly checking the internet looking for new data, he said.

And that is precisely what it has done for Northern Tool.